


The Rejected Club

by grandebatbae



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Heartbreak, M/M, Rejection, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-10-29 23:18:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10864191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grandebatbae/pseuds/grandebatbae
Summary: Alphas and Omegas are eligible to find their soulmate at the age of sixteen. It may be a friend you've known your whole life, a neighbour or a face passing by years later. The experience is one waited upon for a lifetime. But what happens when your soulmate is someone you end up rejecting, or someone who rejects you? Someone who is too different? Of the wrong gender? From a rival family? Someone who is a bully? Someone who is too good for you? And much, much worse; what if you’re in high school when it happens?





	1. There Are Five Of Us

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ FOR CLARITY:
> 
> They are ALL at the same High School.  
> •The GOM+Kagami are the Basketball team  
> •The rest of Seirin is the Volleyball team  
> •The rest of Shutoku is the Lacrosse team  
> •The rest of Kaijo is the Swim team  
> •The rest of Touou is the Baseball team  
> •The rest of Yosen is the Rugby team  
> •The rest of Rakuzan is the Soccer team
> 
> I will NEVER write a story where Omegas are treated as second class. 
> 
> This concept, particularly Kise's situation, are all drawn from my fantasy adventure on Wattpad.

_ Day 390 of rejection. _

_There are five of us now._

_I am the oldest of them all and therefore the first of the little club we have. It's not_ really _a club when you think about it, because clubs get along._

_I do not get along with our second member. I have never said it out loud but it's clear to me as to why Kiyoshi Teppei rejected the bad boy, Hanamiya Makoto, the cruelest omega I have ever met._

_Our third member's rejection was a little bit more hazy to understand._ _Kise Ryouta_ _is not like Koto-chan and I. He is a beta, so he was expecting to be rejected. The rare defective gender who can give birth or provide it, but only with a one-in-a-million chance. It is why he was rejected; the Kasamatsu family enforced_ _traditional views on their Alpha son._

_Our most secret member, who I will refer to as the Emperor, was rejected by his omega. The reason is clear but the empathy is not. His omega fears him and fears inferiority. His own self-doubt is the only thing in the way of his happiness. He tore the Alpha's heart out as he did his own._

_Our newest member is the one I fail to really see. Takao Kazunari is a member of my ~~Alpha's~~ rejecter's Lacrosse team. He is one of the ones whom passed me by and did _ not _snigger, like the rest of them who still deem me unfit for_ him. 

_Takao Kazunari is a sweet, outgoing and completely loveable omega. Very much unalike to his rejecting Alpha, Shintarou Midorima. Whilst the basketball player also has traditional views his number one ire with Takao is the contrast in their personalities._

_They are too different and do not match, according to him. His omega is going to be a Taurus. Oha Asa can not be wrong._

_As for me-_

"Hayama? Have you left for school yet?" 

The omega jumps in fright, banging his knee into his desk.

"I-I'm on my way out!" He shouts back to his aunt. He slams his diary closed and slips it into his bag which he slings over his shoulder.

Hayama leans down into his mirror to check his appearance. His collar on his sport uniform is a little bit on the short side. It results in the red rash, shaped like a large X over his scent glands being quite noticeable.

_The mark of someone not good enough._

Wincing at the futility of pulling it up, he shakes the thought away, grabs his bags and dashes out of the room and into the hallway.

"Did you eat breakfast?" His aunt asks. The over-energetic soccer playes comes to a skidding stop, nodding with a wide grin.

"I ate food from last night! See you!" He responds. The omega calls out to her nephew but it's too late. The wild child is throwing his bored down on the threshold of the front door and racing out into the street.

Hopefully, he can avoid trouble today.

 

◊◊

 

"It isn't _that_  noticeable," Aomine tells Takao, as they stroll towards school. Takao gives a little frown at the pavement and continues to tug at his sports jacket.

"I-I agree. You can only see it if you're looking, Takao-san," Sakurai responds softly from beneath his Alpha's arm.

"It's not like anyone really cares. Look at Kise; he still walks around like he owns the place."

Takao gives a reluctant chuckle, "Yeah."

It was strange, talking to someone so _close_  to his rejecting Alpha. It wasn't Daiki's fault they were on the same team. However, he knows Shin-chan's rejection of him caused a rift between the players.

The act offended his fellow rejectee Kise Ryouta. Kasamatsu Yukio had un-shockingly turned his back on the beta, who despite his gender still has monumental amounts of female fans. 

_'Beta's are a result of too much cross-breeding, Kazunari. Never forget that.'_

Takao's great grandmother had spoken those words before being immediately reprimanded by his parents. Beta were equal now and their gender was no fault of their own.

The 'cross-breeding' refers to children born outside of the soulmate bond. They are becoming increasingly common due to casual sex and a decrease in people finding their destined other half.

"Is Kise still..." Takao trails off as he and the happy couple walk through the gates. Sakurai looks so small and protected by Aomine, who very rarely  _isn't_ touching his soulmate throughout the day.

"Ignoring Midorima? Yeah. It's awkward," Himuro appears beside them with his man-child Alpha trailing behind, eating, "Myself, Atsushi, Aomine, Sakurai, Taiga and Kuroko sit there in almost complete silence whilst Kise makes passive aggressive remarks to him."

 _"I see,"_ Takao responds.

Hearing those names hurt.

In all honesty they were the populars of Seiren Sports Academy. The number one team at the school, the Basketball elites known country-wide as the Generation of Miracles, is looked upon with deep respect by all other sporting teams.

The Aces, Kagami Taiga and Aomine Daiki, the Phantom Kuroko Tetsuya, the Copycat Kise Ryouta, the Titan Murasakibara Atsushi and the Legendary Shooter Midorima Shintarou.

Takao's soulmate.

_Takao's rejecter._

Kagami and Kuroko were soulmates and possibly the most compatible pair Takao had ever seen. He used to think being opposite was the foundation of a perfect bond. But if that were true his heart would not be broken.

Sakurai Ryou of the Baseball team and Himuro Tatsuya of the Martial Arts team were also a part of the popular group because of their soulmates. 

Takao should be. He should be sitting there with them at lunch and walking home with them, instead of his fellow lacrosse players.

"They behave when Akachin's their," Murasakibara drawls. 

Takao winces at the name. Despite the team's closeness no one but Kuroko knew of Akashi's rejection. How young Furihata Kouki of the volleyball team tore his heart out due to fear of inferiority. 

Being rich there were measures the prestigious son of Akashi took to make sure the red X did not don his scent glands. It made Takao jealous, as well as the rest of the club members.

"Right... I, uh, I have to go," Takao says the  _moment_ the colour green comes into his peripheral vision. He ducks in front of Sakurai and Aomine, heading left in the crowd of students entering for the day.

Sakurai calls out behind him but Daiki says not to bother.

Seeing your rejecter hurts. It makes the X throb like a bad rash. It makes your heart beat, but not in a good way. In a way that makes you feel like you're experiencing a light heart attack. 

Everyone is different. Personally Takao has found that he gets very cold. A chill sets into his skin, his blood, his bones, even with the heat on. Kise says he gets the shakes in his hands so often that is disrupts his modelling shoots. Hayama cites a serious depressive state with sleepless nights and tired days. Hanamiya is yet to speak about it at the few times he has shown up to the club meetings. When asked, Akashi had cast his glance away and simply stated that it hurt.

This part of the school is empty. Most morning clubs are inside the classrooms already, leaving Takao to make his way across the dew-kissed grass alone. His destination was their own club room.

The Reject's Club was something secretive. Upon rejection the school faculty provides you with information on how to deal with it, including the reveal of people similar to you. They were not known to outsiders.

"Good morning, Takao-chan!"

The hawk-eyed player stops, turns, and comes to grin at his Senpai Hayama Kotarou, only for that expression to immediately shift into one of concern.

"What ha-... Did you run into his brother again?" Takao frets, taking in the sight of older boy trying to clean off his jacket. Someone had thrown a drink on him. Milk tea by the colour of it.

"Yeah, no big deal!" Hayama grins. That's how he does it; he smiles through the pain. "Don't tell Nebuya, okay?" He chuckles nervously.

The last time Miyaji Kiyoshi's brother, Yuya, bullied Hayama, Takao had taken it upon himself to tell Hayama's friends. Mates Alpha Nebuya and Beta Mibuchi were appalled that it was happening and they had not been told.

Nebuya threatened Yuya and Miyaji responded by cruelly calling Hayama out in the middle of the halls. Hayama didn't show up for a week and when he did, the bullying was worse.

"It's no use," Hayama pouts. He shrugs his jacket off.

Takao spends about six seconds staring at his energetic senpai, before freezing on the spot.

Hayama doesn't notice at first, but when he does he turns around with his soiled jacket hanging off his arm. His confused expression melts into a sadder one when he sees the angered look on Takao's face.

"It's not right. He's supposed to be your soulmate! And Yuya is your brother-in-law!" Takao is rarely seen in such a state, Hayama notes. Clenched fist, voice angered, form shaking with anything but laughter.

"No," Hayama smiles, walking back towards his Kouhai and placing a hand on his shoulder, "he's not my future anything. Most rejections last for months, but when they last more than a year they're likely to be forever, or a very long time. It's been a year and a month for me."

He turns around then, hearing Takao's footsteps behind his own as they continue on to the club room.

"I know this is new to you, Takao. But I've been rejected the longest. This isn't  _new_ to me. As soon as my mom is better I'm going straight back to Kyoto where I won't have to deal with it anymore."

Takao looks up at the sky before they reach the corridor, contemplating the words.

If only Miyaji Kioyoshi knew what he was to lose.

 


	2. I Don't Blame Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayama tells half of his story, Hanamiya has a heart.

"You're...here."

Hanamiya rocks back in his chair at the far end of the clubroom, spinning around some toy gadget in his fingers.

He wears a smirk when his eyes set on Hayama, observing his dishevelled state, "Still not sticking up for yourself, hmm?"

"Oi, Hanamiya-"

"It's alright, Kise," Hayama smiles at the blonde sitting on the other side of the room. "Let him. Koto-chan needs to vent his anger _somewhere."_

"Already did," Hanamiya answers as Takao and Hayama settles themselves in the classroom, "Beat up on a couple of shitbags at the train station."

It sounds awful, but by anyone else's guess, it was because those 'shitbags' dared to make a comment about the red X clearly prominent on Makoto's pale skin.

"Well, I hope your fists are okay, Koto-chan. Akashi wont be coming today but he has promised to join us next week," Hayama says cheerfully. "So, who wants to go first?"

Kise, Hanamiya and Takao glance around at each other, silently agreeing on who shall start today's stories.

"Looks like you need to go first, idiot," Hanamiya says to his classmate.

Hayama huffs, slumping against the bag in his lap, before pushing it off of his thighs and onto the floor.

"I was on my board, then I was nearly at school, then Yuya popped out of nowhere and pretended to bump into me and spill his milk tea. He left before I could say anything. My jacket was zipped up so it only got on there, not my shirt. That's a plus!"

Hanamiya scoffs and shakes his head, Takao sighs and Kise frowns.

"Senpai-" Kise begins, but a softly smiling Hayama interrupts.

"I don't blame them." How could he? All the bad in their life had come to them because of something _his_ family did. "I deserve it."

A split second of silence is left in the wake of the sad statement. But only that much, because protest comes form the last person they expected it to.

"For fuck's sake," Hanamiya snaps, cracking the serenity of the room.

"Hanamiya-san!"

"No, I'm sick of this," He responds lowly, standing up. "Your self pity is disgusting. After all this time you still blame yourself?" The three are taken aback by his unsettling, calmly-spoken  words, "You're not your father, you didn't to anything to the Miyajis, idiot. You lost more than they did in the end. So stop being a _dumbass_ and tell him!"

The door slams when Hanamiya shoves it roughly upon his leave. All three club members jump at the harsh sound. No doubt, the second year is running away from the situation because it almost sounds like he cares.

"That was fast."

"Geez, I can't tell whose side that guy's on."

"Well, he _is_ the kind of sicko that enjoys the rejection pain."

"Inside he's probably just shouting at himself, _not_ senpai."

"That's deep, Kise-kun."

Hayama doesn't join in his kouhai's conversation, too busy mulling over Hanamiya's words. The other rejected was right; Hayama is not his father and he doesn't deserve to be treated this way.

But he doesn't blame the Miyajis for doing it.

As a child, Hayama was loved deeply by his parents, despite the fact that he was so different to them. His Omega father and Alpha father had very serious exteriors and weren't always so encouraging of Hayama's skateboard and soccer interests.

Yet, they loved him dearly and always supported him and attended his games.

When Mr Hayama set up an investment deal involving a few other semi-wealthy families, Kotarou heard very little about it. He was twelve at the time, with Yuya being eleven and Kiyoshi being thirteen. 

He'd never met them, but he knew when his father's deals fell through many families lost their investments, legacies and companies.

Including the Miyajis.

It broke Hanamiya's heart when he found out how many families had lost money, assets and livelihoods because of his father's failure.

What was little known, especially _by_  the Miyaji's, was how the loss changed Hayama's life forever.

"Hayama-senpai?"

The blonde is drawn out of his inner-turmoil to see his underclassman giving him concerned looks, the school bell ringing in the distance.

"Sorry," he grins, snapping out of it, "You two should get to class!" _I'm going to sit here for a while._

Kise and Takao share a worried glance between them, then set it on their senpai.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! Don't be late!" He exclaims with a wide toothy grin, still failing to hide the truth behind such a mask. The pain and the need to calm himself down before he can face anyone.

Takao shuts the door behind him. Hayama is left alone to let those few daily tears fall.

 

◊◊

 

Hanamiya grumbles to himself as he walks the empty corridors.

Did he mean to react that way? Maybe not. He won't lie; he has grown comfortable in some sort of way with Hayama Kotarou. Where they friends? No. Does he care if Yuya wants to bully him? No. Does he care that Hayama blames himself?

Yes.

Where Hanamiya grew up, being rejected was just a thing that happened. People stalk the streets with their Xs on proud display and low-collar jackets with v-neck shirts to emphasise the image their marks make.

_The mark of someone who is not good enough._

It's because where he grew up is where people deemed unfavourable by society live. When those 'unfavourables' find their mates, they usually find themselves disappointed, when they get a sugar-coated potato who lives the high life.

When a 'normal' person, Alpha, Beta or Omega who lives in a normal house with a normal life meets their tattooed, pierced, dyed and leather-wearing mate, rejection is inevitable.

Similar to being a beta, being a delinquent, being ugly, being overweight; it's expected.

When Kiyoshi Teppei first laid eyes on him he _seemed_  to be in love. Makoto was cruel to him, but no matter what the idiot appeared completely and utterly enamoured.

Until he saw the violent side to the pale teen.

The second year is ripped from his reverie when he bumps into someone beneath his line of sight. He drops his head and only _just_  manages to take notice of his fellow Omega standing before him.

"My apologies."

Kuroko Tetsuya of the basketball team stares up at him with dull eyes. He annoyingly reeks of that big, dumb redheaded mate of his. Judging from his clothes he had just been at volleyball training.

Like a lot of the basketball team, they are so disgustingly (in Hanamiya's opinion) sport-talented, they double up on their membership. Kagami and Kuroko often support the volleyball team.

_Kiyoshi's team._

"Watch where you're going, brat," Makoto snaps, mustering up all the venom he can to spit the bluenette away. It doesn't work; not with a big dopey smile stuck on the walls of his mind like a J-Pop poster in a teenager's room. Kuroko simply stares back at him as Hanamiya shoves his hands into his pockets and moves around him.

_Creepy kid._

Lucky for the kid's life, he doesn't bother saying anything else to Makoto. 

Class is soon but there is not a bone in his body that wants to attend. Instead he finds himself wandering towards the staircase which will take him up, up and up until he can rest on the rooftops for the remainder of the day.

The bell rings and people burst out of their morning meetings in their club rooms, heading for their form class. Makoto pisses people off my moving as slow as he can along the second floor.

In the normal Seiren Sports Academy style, it takes around forty seconds for the halls to be empty again. Role call will be on and Makoto will again be marked absent. He couldn't care less.

However, on his way up the stairs to the fourth floor, he hears voices talking in quick hushed tones.

_"I told you to leave me alone."_

_"I know! But-"_

_"Keep your voice down! I don't want people seeing us together."_

Hanamiya grins cruelly to himself. He recognises the helium-laced voice of Swim Team Captain Kasamatsu Yukio, as well as the whiny voice of his fellow rejectee, Kise Ryouta.

_"Why wasn't I included in the inter-high's rotation?"_

Another attention-grabbing basketball _brat._ The copycat of the Generation of Miracles was also a star member of the Swim Team.

_"The coach thinks it's better if you focus on basketball and basketball alone."_

Hanamiya shudders at the thought of the school's swimming coach. An overweight and un-shaven creature who -in Makoto's opinion- only hangs around the pool area for one reason and one reason only.

_"Really? Because my basketball coach Aida-san had nothing-"_

_"I don't care! The point is, the swim team doesn't need you! There are people who focus solely on the sport. They deserve a place on the main team more than you. Now, if you don't mind I've got a class to go to!"_

Kasamatsu Yukio has always been a harsh person. The angry alpha tone he uses is enough to make even Makoto cringe. He hears a soft noise, like Kise sighing through his nose, before the model turns around and starts heading for the stairs.

Hanamiya doesn't move from his place leaning against the wall, arms folded. He and Kise share a look, either angry or annoyed but not at each other, before the discouraged blonde disappears on the flight around the corner.

The pale teen pushes off the wall and ascends the last step with a smirk. Kasamatsu is standing there in the hallway still, one hand on his hip and the other pressed against his forehead. His eyes are shut but they snap open when he hears Makoto's footsteps.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" He barks. This _is_ the third-year class level after all.

Hanamiya snorts and pushes his hands further into his pockets, making his blazer taut, "You know, he only joined the swim team to get closer to you."

Blue eyes widen in discomfort. Makoto passes him before he can observe much more. The rooftop doors are just around the corner. Despite the captain being a goody-two-shoes, he highly doubts he'll dob Makoto in or anything.

"Yeah? How do you know that, huh?" He asks. 

Before Hanamiya can stalk around the next corner, he tosses a glance over his shoulder at the the third year, "Our little club, of course."

The further shocked look on Kasamatsu's face is like victory. Hanamiya ignores it, because he _definitely_  wasn't trying to gain Kise revenge or anything.

He spends the rest of the day on the roof wondering if revealing there is a rejected club was a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr!  
> animegrandebatbaes.tumblr.com


	3. Someone Who Is Not Good Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kasamatsu has suspicions, Shin-chan is a source of icy pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE GIVE AUTHOR-CHAN ALL YOUR HEADCANNONS IN COMMENT OR ON TUMBLR! <3

"Hey."

Kasamatsu, hands buried in the pockets of his uniform and eyes trained on the poster-clad street wall, draws his gaze to the person he asked to meet him.

In all honesty Kasamatsu could admit to himself that Miyaji Kiyoshi is very attractive. He isn't given enough credit; then again, none of them were with the team of rainbow brats around.

"Yo."

Miyaji looks just as reserved as him. They both mirror each other in stature, resulting in Kasamatsu pulling his hands out of his clothing to let them hang limp at his side instead.

As if it was natural, the two Alphas fall into a stride. Side by side they start walking down the night-lit street, other students and workers making their way home as well.

"What did you want to talk about?" Miyaji asks. His tone is different, which makes sense. He and Kasamatsu are in different classes but they're the same year.

At first he isn't sure how to respond, because he's heard even _hearing_  Hayama Kotarou's name makes him flip out like a psych-ward escapee, so instead he tries a different approach.

"You know when the faculty find out your desired profession, they send you to a designated group? Sending future doctors to the health committee and future lawyers to the disciplinary committee?"

Miyaji glances sideways at him with a frown. Upon seeing Kasamatsu's serious expression facing ahead, he realises he isn't fooling around.

"Well, yeah, I'm on the disciplinary committee."

"Right. So, do you think they have one for people who're..." he trails off, concerned about the effect of the word.

Miyaji's brows furrows a little bit tighter. When he speaks his teeth appear to be clenched.

"Rejected?" He grinds out.

Kasamatsu's first internal reaction is _shit,_ but then Miyaji tilts his head back at the sky, shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath.

_Does this guy go to anger management?_

"I've noticed your one give me pissed looks and now Takao won't really talk to me, so maybe they do have some kind of network happening." 

Yukio bites back the _'He's not 'my one''_ in favour of keeping a conversational flow.

"Why? You hear something?"

Kasamatsu nods, "I...I cut Kise from the Swim Team. He came in and yanked me out of class for it, wanted to know what was happening. I told him the coach wants him to focus on basketball. When he left Hanamiya Makoto came out of nowhere and mentioned that Kise was only on the team to get closer to me. I asked how he knew and he said it was because they have a club."

Miyaji scoffs, "What? A 'Rejected Club'?"

"I guess so. Do you think it's real?"

The blonde frowns at the sky again. Few people understand why Miyaji rejected Hayama. They could have been a classic pair; suiting each other like puzzle pieces because of their opposite selves.

Kasamatsu heard from Moriyama, who heard from Fukui, who heard from Kimura that the Miyaji family experienced a great business betrayal from Hayama's family.

What Kasamatsu _also_  heard, this time through Moriyama who heard from Ootsubo, who heard from Mibuchi, was that Hayama's Alpha father committed suicide and resulted in his Omega father falling into depression.

Hayama; practically orphaned, a year rejected.

It is Kasamatsu's understanding that Miyaji did not lose his parents. They're alive and well, but it wasn't easy to get out of the pit they ended up in. It almost ruined his family, broke his parents' bond and disadvantaged he and Yuuya.

A lot of people judged Miyaji _hard_  because of his treatment of Hayama. The Omega was often bullied, even beaten by Yuuya and verbally chastised and humiliated by Kiyoshi. It would be enough to break anyone else.

Not the lightning beast of the Soccer team though.

"I mean, it's to be expected, right? They have a beta club. Rejected are...a minority too."

Kasamatsu stuffs down the small voice echoing in the back of his mind;  _thanks to people like you._

"Yeah. I was thinking about asking the others what they think. Midorima, Kiyoshi..."

"Well I can ask Midorima. He still comes to Lacrosses practice, he just doesn't work with Takao anymore," Miyaji says.

"Right, well, I can ask Kiyoshi."

 

◊◊

 

_"Shin-chan!"_

_"You're late."_

_Takao pouts, glancing over his shoulder at the rickshaw, "It had a broken wheel, so I had to fix it!"_

_Midorima tsks, pushing his glasses up. They play a game of junken and the results are as expected. The lucky-item-bearing tsundere takes the win._

_"Let's go, ace-sama!"_

_As Takao starts to pedal, he grins inwardly to himself._

_Shin-chan really_ is _going to be his mate when they turn sixteen._

"Takao, are you even listening to me?"

The Omega is brought out of his daydream of the past by his classmate. For a few seconds all he can do is stare at Kise, before violently shaking his head and rubbing his eyes.

"Um, what?"

"Heats. Have you made your mind up about what you're going to do?"

Takao lifts his face off of his balled up hand, resting his arm against his desk as he straightens up. Everyone appears to be heading off to lunch, including his soulmate who sits on the other side of the room.

"I..." He gulps, trying to catch up to Kise's question, "I have not."

Kise sighs, tossing his head to the side which shifts his fringe. Takao catches stragglers staring in awe at the model.

"You should! I don't get them, luckily, but Hayama-senpai says they're really hard and that you should make your mind up," Kise whines as the two get up and head out of the classroom together.

There were options. Some rejecters and rejectees have deals; the only time they'd be together is during heats and ruts, simply to spare themselves three days of pain. Whilst that's all good and nice, it is extremely agonising to come apart after the joining, affecting the rejectee the most.

The second was to sweat it out. To endure the pain for three days and try not to kill yourself over the complete and utter desire for your soulmate.

Another was to find someone else who is rejected. Takao would need a rejected Alpha. Whilst one does come to mind, Akashi Seijuuro scares him more than Shin-chan does. Also, those two were close, and Shin-chan would be able to smell his mate's scent on his friend straight away.

Last was 'the pills'. They bear a long and complicated scientific name, but most had defaulted to calling them Preventers. They aren't like the suppressants bonded Omegas take to reduce the chance of pregnancy during heat.

Preventers stop the heat and the rut _entirely_.

Only, they require a joint agreement signed by both rejecter and rejectee upon purchase. A bottle equals a three month subscription and they are taken once every two days.

Yet, that is not the worst part, nor is the ghastly cost.

The worst part is the side effects. 

Between rejecter and rejectee, the soulmate bond is very fragile. It quakes with every bit of pain and in Takao's case, makes him unbelievably cold, so much so that he sleeps with several layers in the summer.

It's always there inside of a person, like a constant reminder that you are tied to someone, even if that someone doesn't want you.

Preventers dull that connection. Whilst that bond may not be an enjoyable one, it's still addictive. It's still important. It binds you to your soulmate. It's something tender and to be nurtured even when neglected.

During the time a heat and rut would take place the two experience a very cold, very hard and very emotionless three days. Afterwards when the Preventers have done their job, the yearn for physical contact increases tenfold for about a week.

But, it still prevents the heat and rut. It just makes it a time of nothingness instead of desire. 

"What does Kasa-...What does _he_ do? I mean, what is it even like when you're a beta and you get neither, but your soulmate gets a rut?"

Takao's voice is low as he speaks to the blonde. They walk the halls looking the same, but everyone knows they're different. Everyone knows they bear the mark of _someone who is not good enough._

"I'll tell you when I find out," Kise responds softly, casting his gaze somewhere else.

The black-haired Omega winces, realising he'd just asked Kise about something the blonde may never experience.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," Kise grins. 

Takao realises where he's being lead; towards the basketball team's lunch table. Aomine and Sakurai are feeding each other, Kuroko and Kagami are having a cute argument, Murasakibara and Himuro and kissing, Akashi is absent (by Kazunari's guess, because of a rut) and Shin-chan is nowhere to be seen.

"Midorimacchi won't sit there until there's one other lone person at the table."

"In other words, you?" Takao lets out a hollow chuckle as he begins to veer away from Kise. The blonde gives him a little frown, "Takaocchi-"

"I'll see you later," Takao smiles as he ducks around the corner to head towards the lacrosse table.

Something alike to a _wall_  smelling of a clinical hospital blocks his path. Takao walks smack-bang into their chest. It takes him less than half a second to deduct who it is, for that scent and warmth and attraction makes his heart rate pick up and his face flush.

Pain blooms in his stomach. 

"Sh-Shin-chan!" 

_Oops,_ he's not supposed to call the tsundere his middle-school nickname.

They're inches apart, Takao staring up at the greenette with wide, bashful eyes and Midorima staring down with a stony glare. Takao is stiff, unable to run for a few seconds.

"Sorry," he finally chokes out, dropping his head and stepping around Midorima. He _swears_  he can feel the warmth radiating of his Alpha soulmate as they pass.

Shintarou doesn't say anything or turn to watch him go. He keeps staring ahead, lucky item and lunch in hand.

His eyes flicker to Kise, who stands a few yards away with his hands buried in his pockets, staring at Midorima with a dull expression in his eyes.

"You're the idiot this time, Midorimacchi."

Meanwhile, Takao stumbles past students moving along the corridor, faintly clutching at his shirt over his heart. It hurts like nothing he has ever felt before. That yearning, the desire to lean in and nuzzle his Alpha's body rather than step back was _so strong._

He finally makes it to the bathrooms and finds no one inside. The Omega stumbles to the other side along the cold tiles, crashing into the wall and sliding down to the floor in a slump.

"Shin-chan..." He whispers to the emptiness, legs laying limply before him as he tries in vain to cast away the ache in his heart.

To see your rejecter hurts. To talk to your rejecter does too. To touch them? A touch you ache for every second of your life? To do that and have it taken away immediately is utter agony.

All he wanted was Shin-chan. The soul which completes his own. His other half. 

Suddenly the cold chills he faces every night begin to etch into his skin. Shin-chan felt _so warm,_ so inviting, and Takao wishes for nothing more than the chance to curl up into those long arms for one night. He'd give up the rest of his life for that.

_It hurts._ Takao writhes around as the pain builds up in his heart, down to the pit of his stomach. The X on his neck burns like hellfire, but it does nothing to distract the pure ache within his body or the chill in his blood.

He is not good enough.

"Takao!" A panicked voice echoes in the bathroom. Someone collapses in front of him and slips their bag off. Takao hears the metal rings clink against the tiles over the roar of blood in his ears.

"Sen...pai... _I'm so cold."_

Hayama seems to have already noticed, removing his jacket and swinging it over Takao's shoulders.

"Let's get you to the office. If we explain they'll let you go ho-"

The blonde freezes his movements when Takao grips his sleeve.

"N-Not yet...wait...until everyone's back in c-class."

A majority of Hayama's conscience tells him to go against his kouhai's wishes and drag him to the office now. Instead, he shifts next to Takao and wraps an arm around his fellow Omega's shoulder.

He can wait with him, because Hayama knows what it's like to go through these bouts _alone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, if you have headcannons about this story, let me know below or on Tumblr, same username ^_^ xo


End file.
